scholarly journals Current and Developing Technologies for Monitoring Agents of Bioterrorism and Biowarfare

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 583-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel V. Lim ◽  
Joyce M. Simpson ◽  
Elizabeth A. Kearns ◽  
Marianne F. Kramer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Evanescent Wave ◽  
Living Cells ◽  
Innovative Technologies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Accurate Detection ◽  
Detection And Identification ◽  
Complex Sample ◽  
Public Health Officials

SUMMARY Recent events have made public health officials acutely aware of the importance of rapidly and accurately detecting acts of bioterrorism. Because bioterrorism is difficult to predict or prevent, reliable platforms to rapidly detect and identify biothreat agents are important to minimize the spread of these agents and to protect the public health. These platforms must not only be sensitive and specific, but must also be able to accurately detect a variety of pathogens, including modified or previously uncharacterized agents, directly from complex sample matrices. Various commercial tests utilizing biochemical, immunological, nucleic acid, and bioluminescence procedures are currently available to identify biological threat agents. Newer tests have also been developed to identify such agents using aptamers, biochips, evanescent wave biosensors, cantilevers, living cells, and other innovative technologies. This review describes these current and developing technologies and considers challenges to rapid, accurate detection of biothreat agents. Although there is no ideal platform, many of these technologies have proved invaluable for the detection and identification of biothreat agents.

scholarly journals Municipal public health officials and the Public Health Act

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Lyshol
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Vocational Teachers ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Public Health ◽  
New Public ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Public Health Workers ◽  
Public Health Act

Introduction: The Norwegian Public Health Act of 2012 was intended to give the municipalities a bigger stake in the health of the population by emphasizing public health at a municipal level. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the Act on public health officials in the execution of their vocational roles.Research questions: How do public health officials in Norwegian municipalities balance the requirements of the new Public Health Act and what their local leaders, both politicians and bureaucrats, want? How do they use the Act in the performance of their vocational roles? Does this have any relevance for vocational teachers? Method :After a literature search, semi-formal interviews were conducted with 13 municipal public health officials who were also given practical tasks and short questionnaires. The interview transcripts were analysed using Thematic Analysis. This qualitative research technique is defined and described. Discussion and Results: The study shows that the public health workers see the Act as a useful tool and actively use it to leverage the public health field into greater importance. They feel that the Act is empowering, gives them greater pride in their work, and that it helps both them and their superiors to achieve greater understanding of public health workers’ roles in their municipalities. Using the informants’ own words, changes in the municipal public health workers’ roles and vocational self-definitions are discussed in the context of the new Act and selections from the relevant literature. Conclusion: The Public Health Act has changed the roles of municipal public health workers and helped them to further public health by giving them more responsibility and expanded their duty to safeguard health in all policies. The Act is seen as empowering, giving public health professionals pride in their work and greater role understanding, and should be heavily featured in the curriculum of future public health workers.

Public health challenges during the COVID-19 outbreak in Nepal: a commentary

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharmistha Sharma ◽  
Jeevan Bhatta
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Challenges ◽  
Current Scenario ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
The Government

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to depict the current scenario of coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) in Nepal, how the government is tackling this pandemic as well as look at the public health challenges that Nepal is facing and might face in the future.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is a viewpoint of COVID-19 activities conducted in Nepal.FindingsNepal is vulnerable to COVID-19, as it shares borders with China and India. Cases have started to be seen in different parts of Nepal. Government of Nepal has started various measures to control the spread of the virus such as deploying health workers, information sharing via different mediums. However, there are still many challenges that the government and public health officials need to be concerned about as well.Originality/valueThis paper provides information about the situation of COVID-19 in Nepal, how the government is handling, and public health challenges that may arise. This paper can be beneficial for further public health interventions.

scholarly journals Myths Surrounding Covid-19 Vaccine Candidates: A Guide to Fight Back

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Zizzo
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Herd Immunity ◽  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Protective Measure ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Vaccine Candidates ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Organizations ◽  
Public Health Officials

The Covid-19 pandemic has propelled public health officials into the socio-political sphere due to the need for constantly updated information on behalf of the public. However, many individuals choose to acquire health information/guidance from indirect sources, including social media, news organizations, and general word of mouth. As a result, myths and false narratives about various essential health topics, including vaccine characteristics and protective measures, can circulate un-verified between millions of individuals with little recourse. These can further widen the “gap” between public knowledge and current research, resulting in lower vaccine uptake (vaccine hesitancy) and protective measure adherence. Such actions have profound implications as nations attempt to achieve herd immunity and end the pandemic once and for all. Thus, it is vital that public health officials, health providers, researchers, and the general public be able to differentiate common Covid-19 myths from facts and be prepared to approach such interactions via sound reasoning and research-based evidence. This chapter will serve as a guide to accomplish just that.

Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic: When Public Health and Tornado Threats Converge

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig D. Croskery ◽  
Kathleen Sherman-Morris ◽  
Michael E. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Careful Planning ◽  
Public Places ◽  
The Public ◽  
Emergency Managers ◽  
Public Health Officials

AbstractThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in unprecedented challenges that dramatically affected the way of life in the United States and globally in 2020. The pandemic also made the process of protecting individuals from tornadoes more challenging, especially when their personal residence lacks suitable shelter, particularly for residents of mobile homes. The necessity of having to shelter with other families – either in a public shelter or at another residence – in order to protect themselves from a tornado threat conflicted with the advice of public health officials who recommended avoiding public places and limiting contact with the public to minimize the spread of COVID-19. There was also a perception that protecting against one threat could amplify the other threat. A survey was undertaken with the public to determine the general viewpoint to see if that was indeed the case.The results found that it was possible to attenuate both threats provided that careful planning and actions were undertaken. Understanding how emergency managers should react and plan for such dual threats is important to minimize the spread of COVID-19 while also maintaining the safety of the public. As there was no precedence for tornado protection scenarios amidst a pandemic, both short-term and long-term recommendations were suggested which may also be useful in future pandemic situations.

Cooperation, Conflict, and Reaction

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Cumbler
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
New England ◽  
The Other ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
Stream Pollution ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
The One ◽  
The Right

When James Olcott spoke before Connecticut farmers for “anti-stream pollution,” he urged the public to mobilize to stop water pollution by “ignorant or reckless capitalists.” In identifying the “ignorant and reckless capitalists,” Olcott focused the attention of the farmers on industrial waste and the role of manufacturers in their search for profits in causing pollution. Although manufacturers and the courts argued that industrialization brought wealth and prosperity to New England and hence was a general good, Olcott challenged this idea. He saw the issue as a conflict between industrialization and its costs on the one hand and the public good on the other. Concern over industrial pollution and the potential conflict between it and public health had already arisen in Massachusetts. Although the Massachusetts State Board of Health realized that the interests of the “capitalists” and those of the public health officials might be in conflict, in 1872 it hoped that with improved knowledge, “a way will be eventually found to joining them into harmonious relations,” much as Lyman believed science and technology would resolve the conflict between fishers and mill owners. The board's interest in “harmonious relations” also reflected a realization that at least for the last several years, the courts had seen pollution as an inevitable consequence of civilization and had been favorable toward industrialists, especially if no obvious alternative to dumping pollution existed. In 1866, William Merrifield sued Nathan Lombard because Lombard had dumped “Vitriol and other noxious substances” into the stream above Merrifield's factory, “corrupting” the water so badly that it destroyed his boiler. Chief Justice Bigelow ruled that Lombard had invaded Merrifield's rights. “Each riparian owner,” the judge wrote, “has the right to use the water for any reasonable and proper purpose. . . . An injury to the purity or quality of the water to the detriment of the other riparian owners, constitutes in legal effect, a wrong.” In 1872, Merrifield again went to court, claiming the City of Worcester regularly dumped sewage into Mill Brook, by which the waters became greatly corrupted and unfit to use.”

Acute Enteric Disease Outbreaks

2019 ◽  
pp. 421-436
Author(s):  
Ian T. Williams ◽  
Laura Whitlock ◽  
Matthew E. Wise
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
The United States ◽  
Foodborne Illness ◽  
The Public ◽  
Enteric Diseases ◽  
Health Community ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
And Control ◽  
Investigation Process

Public health officials investigate outbreaks to control them, to prevent additional illnesses, and to learn how to prevent similar outbreaks in the future. The process the public health community uses to detect, investigate, and control enteric (intestinal) disease outbreaks from food, water, and other sources involves certain procedural steps. These include detecting a possible outbreak, defining and finding cases, generating hypotheses about likely sources, testing the hypotheses and evaluating evidence, finding contamination sources, controlling the outbreak, and determining when the outbreak is over. Investigating outbreaks of acute enteric diseases can be a dynamic and complex undertaking involving multiple public health and regulatory partners in different jurisdictions. This chapter provides an overview of the investigation process with an emphasis on multijurisdictional foodborne illness investigations in the United States.

NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1952 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-241
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Salt Lake City ◽  
School Personnel ◽  
The Public ◽  
University Of Utah ◽  
Epileptic Child ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Lake City

The Western Institute on Epilepsy will hold its Fourth Annual Meeting in Los Angeles on Oct. 24 and 25. It will be particularly designed for the general practitioner and pediatrician, as well as for the public health officials and school personnel interested in the epileptic child and his school and home adjustments. For further information write Dr. Jean P. Davis, College of Medicine, University of Utah, 168 Westminster Avenue, Salt Lake City, Utah, or Mrs. F. S. Markham, 1100 South Bay Front, Balboa Island, Calif.

scholarly journals Self-Assessment in the Measurement of Public Health Workforce Preparedness for Bioterrorism or other Public Health Disasters

2005 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave S. Kerby ◽  
Michael W. Brand ◽  
David L. Johnson ◽  
Farooq S. Ghouri
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Public Health Workers

Objective. The purpose of this study was to examine effective ways to evaluate public health workers' competence for preparedness. Methods. The Public Health Ready project, developed by the National Association of County and City Public Health Officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a pilot program designed to prepare local public health agencies to respond to emergency events. Workers at a Public Health Ready site ( N=265) rated their need for training and their competence in meeting generic emergency response goals. Cluster analysis of cases was conducted on the self-assessed need for training. Results. Three groups of workers emerged, differing in their overall ratings of need for training. A given worker tended to report similar needs for training across all training goals. Conclusions. In this study, workers' ratings of need for training may reflect an overall interest in training rather than need for training in a particular area. Caution should be exercised in interpretation when generic goals and self-assessment are used to measure need for training. Future assessments of training needs may be more effective if they use objective measures of specific local plans.

Pandemic Flu Planning in the Community: What Can Clinical Ethicists Bring to the Public Health Table?

2008 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 468-470
Author(s):  
NANCY BERLINGER ◽  
JACOB MOSES
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Pandemic Influenza ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Public Agencies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Essential Services ◽  
Ethical Guidance ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Pandemic Flu

It is still remarkably difficult for public health officials charged with developing and implementing pandemic influenza preparedness plans at the community level—where care is delivered—to obtain clear, concrete, and consistent guidance on how to construct plans that are both ethical and actionable. As of mid-2007, most of the federal and state pandemic plans filed with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, describing how public health officials will coordinate public agencies and private entities in the event of an outbreak, failed to include ethical guidance for first responders responsible for providing essential services and making fair decisions during a public health emergency.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document